Protecting attachment for legs of trousers.



No. 694,200. Patented Feb. 25, |902.

B. F. SALMON.

PROTECTING ATTACHMENT FOB LEGS 0F TROUSERS.

(Application led Apr. 15, 1901.) (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES L ATnNT OFFICE.

BENJAMINE F. SALMON, OF FREELAND, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROTECTING ATTACHMENT l-:OR LEGS OF TROUSERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 694,200, dated February25, 1902.

l Application filed April 15, 1901. Serial No. 55,866, (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMINE F. SALMON, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Freeland, in the county of Luzerne and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in ProtectingAttachments for the Legs of Trousers, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

The object ot this invention is to provide a novel, simple, andinexpensive attachment for vthe legs of trousers worn by miners orothers working in wet places,and is especially adapted for theprotection ot' the lower portions of the ordinary trousers-legs, so asto prevent them from becoming damp while the wearer is working on a wetiioor and Whereon at times he has to kneel and prevent pieces of anyhard or soft substance from dropping into the top of the boot and whichoften inj ures the foot.

The invention consists in theV novel construction and combination ofparts, as is hereinafter described,and defined in the appended claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specication, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a partly-sectional side view of the improvement in place onthe trousers-leg. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the improvementapplied to the trousers-leg, and Fig. 3 is a front view of the inventiondetached and in extended condition.

In the drawings, 10 indicates one of t-he legs of ordinary tro'users,such as are worn by miners or other workmen,for whom the invention isavailable as a protection against injurious wear of the trousers and toprevent the legs of such a garment from being saturated with moisture tothe detriment of the health of the wearer.

The boot 11 is one of a pair such as miners usually wear, having legsthat extend up to the knee of the leg whereon the boot is drawn for itsprotection. Usually a miner folds the lower portion of each trousers-leg10 around the calf of a respective lower limb of his body before theboot 11 is drawn upon the leg it is provided for, thus filling up thespace in the boot-leg 111, as shown in Fig. 1, this folded beingconducted Vin a low level of the mine,

and prevent pieces of coal or other substances from entering the top ofthe boot.

It is' often necessary for a miner to kneel down on the wet floor of amine, and as this posture immerses the-open upper edge of the boot-tops,sas Well as the knees of his trousers, in the water it will be obviousthat the lower limbs of the operator will quickly become chilled by thecold mine-water that saturates the lower portions of the trousers-legs10.

My improvement eectively prevents the entrance of coal, water, or othersubstance into the tops of apair of boots such as shown at 11 in Fig. 1,and consists of the following details of construction: A waterproofcappiece 12 is provided for each trousers-leg, and the contour of itsupper portion is such as to adapt it to cover the knee of thetrousers-leg and extend a suitable distance above the same, asrepresented in the drawings. Each cap-piece 12 is sewed at its edge upona respective leg of the trousers 10 and, as shown at 12, an integralportion of the device for each trousers-leg extends in tubular form downfrom the part 12, so as to incase the top portion of the boot-leg llf.

The material for each knee-protector and boot-top closer is made of suchlength in the tubular portion 12 thereof as to it'closely around theopen top portion ot' the boot-leg, with which it engages and outside ofwhichit depends, and, if desired, any suitable means may be employed todraw the free lower edge of each tubular portion 12L more closelyagainst the leg of the boot. Preferably the portion under the knee ofthe wearer is left unclosed, so as to permit the same to be readilyturned up when the boots are drawn on. As the material of which theprotectors ,are made is dexible, the tubular portion 12 may be turned upover the knee when the boot is to be drawn on the leg, and after theboot is donned by the wearer the tubular portions are IOO to he turneddown for the incasement of the boot-*legs at their tops, as hereinbetoredescribed.

It will be seen that when the legs of a persons trousers are providedwith the improvement the knee portions of said garment will bereinforced in a manner which will prevent them from injury when thewearer kneels upon rough fragments of coal or other mineral he isengaged in mining, and, as before mentioned, the lowerlimhs of theoperator are fully protected from intrusion of Water into the top of hisboots While he is in a standing or kneeling posture.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- As a new article ofmanufacture a pair of trousers having its ieg portions provided on theirouter sides at the front with a' knee-pro tector whose lower end is freeor detached from the trousers-legs and forms a ap to fit over and incasethe upper end of a boot-leg, when the latter is fitted over thetrousers, such flap having its rear ends disconnected or unelosed tofacilitate the turning up of the flap When the boots are drawn on andthe turning down ot theiap over the upper end of the boot-leg, al1substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony Whereot" I have signed my name tothis specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMINE F. SALMON.

Witnesses:

CHAS. ORION SrRoH, M. V. BROGAN.'

